Immersive Simulations for Occupational Safety Training: A Scoping Review of Learning, Transfer, and Safeguards in Technical Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64747/q28fw170Keywords:
virtual reality, immersive simulation, occupational safety, technical education, hazard recognition, cybersicknessAbstract
Introduction: Immersive simulations enable learners to practice hazard recognition and decision-making without real exposure, but presence, enjoyment, or performance inside a virtual environment does not demonstrate transfer to workshops or workplaces. Cybersickness, cognitive load, accessibility, and overconfidence also require specific safeguards for younger learners. Objective: To map evidence published through April 30, 2026, on learning, retention, transfer, implementation, and safeguards of immersive simulations for occupational safety training, with implications for technical education. Methods: A JBI-oriented scoping review was reported using PRISMA-ScR. Ten historical Crossref searches retrieved 600 records; 490 were unique and 112 passed a thematic filter. Fifty reports were assessed and 20 sources were included. Context, technology, comparator, learning, transfer, safety, implementation, and limitations were extracted. Results: Reviews favored virtual reality for knowledge acquisition and, with less certainty, retention. However, a review of 136 studies found that 72.06% measured learning while only 19.12% used a transfer test. The only source directly focused on secondary vocational education co-designed a low-cost serious game with 8 teachers and 50 students; it showed acceptability rather than causal effectiveness. Maritime and electrical training studies reported benefits in motivation, perceived learning, or retention, but real-world behavior was rarely evaluated. Reporting of symptoms, attrition, accessibility, and non-immersive alternatives was inconsistent. Conclusions: Immersion is defensible when it supports practice of hazardous decisions that cannot be responsibly rehearsed in real settings. It should be integrated with observable objectives, feedback, debriefing, supervision, transfer testing, and symptom control. It does not replace physical controls, supervised practice, or professional certification. Current evidence supports a responsible school pilot, not claims of Ecuadorian effectiveness.
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